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Leadership Support for coteaching from ASCD

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Leadership Support for coteaching from ASCD

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SPED focus, but applicable to all coteaching

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December 2015/January 2016 | Volume 73 | Number 4
Co-Teaching: Making It Work Pages 30-34

Wendy W. Murawski and Philip Bernhardt

You've heard the message. Co-teaching is the newest initiative to be implemented by your school district. Students with special needs can no longer be simply physically "included" in general education classes. These students need and deserve authentic opportunities to access and participate in the curriculum. To accomplish this goal, co-teaching has been embraced as the panacea, the magic bullet, and the fairy dust all rolled into one. Teachers must now "co-plan, co-instruct, and co-assess" (Murawski, 2003, p. 10). And guess what? You're the lucky one to help make it all happen! What do you do?

First, you breathe. Second, you realize that you have the resources and leadership ability to make co-teaching happen. Third, you take stock of your school's dynamics and create a plan of action that incorporates five important steps. In all honesty, some of these steps may be more difficult to implement than others, but our goal here is to provide practical strategies to make thoughtful implementation of co-teaching less difficult.

1. Provide professional development on inclusion, collaboration, and co-teaching.

This step cannot be emphasized enough. Co-teaching literature is replete with stories highlighting what can happen if teachers are thrown into a collaborative relationship without time to think about the process, plan for the implementation, or participate in training aimed at creating the conditions for success (Damore & Murray, 2009; Dieker & Murawski, 2003; Murawski, 2009; Villa, Thousand, & Nevin, 2013).

Co-teaching requires more than just learning to "play nicely" together. It requires a paradigm shift-from teaching in silos to teaching in tandem, from owning the front of the room to sharing space, from sending students with special needs out of the classroom to thoughtfully differentiating for diverse learners. Before working on collaboration and communication skills, educators need to embrace the mindset that inclusion is an issue of both equity and social justice. Then, teachers and administrators will be more prepared for and committed to co-teaching.

What can you do to create the conditions for successful professional development? First, don't assume your administrators, faculty, staff, parents, or students understand what co-teaching is or how it will play out in classrooms. Adopt one schoolwide or districtwide definition of co-teaching and provide clear examples of what it should look like. Engage individuals in the school who have power, expertise, and experience in co-teaching to help bring others on board. Try to avoid having all those individuals be special education personnel; co-teaching shouldn't be seen as a "special education thing," but rather as a "best practices in education thing."

Next, create buy-in for inclusion and collaboration before introducing co-teaching itself. Without a collaborative culture in place, faculty are unlikely to want to share their classrooms (Murawski & Spencer, 2011). Use outside experts and facilitators if your internal experts are being ignored. Sometimes folks simply need to hear an "expert from afar" clarify that this isn't just another fly-by-night initiative.

Provide professional development to specific groups for specific purposes. Make sure your special educators can clearly articulate their areas of expertise and know how to provide specialized instruction while in the general education class without becoming a glorified aide (Murawski, 2009). Make sure paraprofessionals have training on their role in the inclusive classroom (Nevin, Villa, & Thousand, 2009). Don't assume that faculty from these two groups already know their roles or are experts in co-teaching and inclusive practices.

Finally, ensure that all teachers are familiar with the most common co-instructional approaches: One Teach-One Observe, One Teach-One Assist, Teaming, Station Teaching, Alternative Teaching, and Parallel Teaching. (See Marilyn Friend's article on page 16 of this issue for a description of these approaches.)

2. Establish scheduling strategies.

Everyone involved in the scheduling process needs to understand the key criteria for creating an authentic co-teaching environment. Too often, we hear horror stories of two teachers being asked to instruct 60 students together because someone thought combining two classes of 30 students constituted genuine co-teaching. Similarly problematic are classes labeled as "inclusive" but made up of 30 students with individualized education programs (IEPs) and four students without IEPs.

How can you create a suitable schedule? Most important, schedule students receiving special education into the master schedule first. This demonstrates your commitment to inclusion. Try to avoid having more than 30 percent of a general education class designated as having special needs (Murawski & Dieker, 2013). This includes students with disabilities, English language learners, students on 504 plans, and even students who are highly gifted. Each of these students is likely to require more attention than the typical learner; plus, the more students with special needs there are in the class, the more their needs begin to dominate classroom instruction and the less "inclusive" it truly becomes.

Be careful not to burn out your teachers or spread them too thin. The more specialists a general education teacher sees in one day, the less likely it is that the teacher will co-plan with any of them, so assign general educators only one special educator to co-teach with. Special educators can collaborate with multiple colleagues; but to truly co-teach, which entails co-planning, co-instructing, and co-assessing, they need to start with one or two partners. It's also important to limit the number of content areas and grade levels in which the special educator co-teaches.

Build in planning time for co-teachers. The best way to do this is to create common planning periods. If your departments or grade-level teams have common planning time, ensure that the special educators working with those teams have a planning period at the same time so they can assist teams in creating universally designed lesson plans that incorporate opportunities for differentiation. Other options for scheduling planning time for teachers include using professional learning community time, having a substitute come in once a month, using banked time, organizing lunch meetings, and replacing lunch or recess duties with co-teaching planning time (Murawski, 2009). Choose what works for your school and teams.

Strategically schedule paraprofessionals in general education classes and provide them with professional development about their role in the inclusive class (Nevin et al., 2009). We suggest paraeducators be in classes that are not co-taught, thus maximizing the number of general education classes that have additional support. Try to assign paraeducators to classes in which students need minimal support or monitoring, as opposed to classes that need the more strategic support that a special education teacher would provide.

3. Partner the right teachers.

Research continues to find confusing and contradictory results related to co-teaching (Damore & Murray, 2009). The main reason for this is that co-teaching involves people with complex and dynamic personalities. Co-teaching is a relationship built on professionalism, collaboration, and a common goal of supporting student success. It is important to note, however, that these goals can be derailed by partnerships that simply do not work. Although there is no formula to finding the "right" pairs, there is research indicating how to improve the chances that co-teaching teams will gel.

As the school leader, what can you do to create successful co-teaching partnerships? Above all, don't throw teachers together and hope for the best!

After providing professional development on what co-teaching is and is not, start by asking teachers to consider finding their own partners and volunteering. Be sure to give them the parameters of what classes, grades, or subjects will need to be co-taught, and ask them to work within those parameters. Create a small pilot program of volunteers to try co-teaching so you can see how it works in your school. Provide resources to these teams to maximize their chances of success.

If you have to form the co-teaching pairs, try having faculty complete surveys on learning preferences, multiple intelligences, personal dispositions, and relationship dynamics. Dieker and Murawski's (2003) SHARE worksheet is a resource for helping potential partners communicate about their hopes, expectations, responsibilities, and pet peeves. Use this information as you think about your faculty; can you identify individuals with complementary personalities who you think would work well together? Ask each one individually about co-teaching with the other.

Finally, set up fun ways for faculty members to meet and interact with one another, such as a pizza lunch or TGIF party. This will assist in the relationship-building process and will start to build natural partnerships. Remember, the more collaborative your school culture is, the easier it will be to create and maintain co-teaching teams.

4. Supervise and evaluate strategically.

Many education leaders have never had personal experience co-teaching, but they need to know what to look for, listen for, and ask for when observing, supervising, and evaluating co-teachers. A few resources are available to support this process (see, for example, Murawski & Dieker, 2013; Murawski & Lochner, 2011; Wilson, 2005).

When evaluating co-teaching pairs, make sure you understand co-teaching principles and strategies in addition to what you already know about effective teaching practices. Because the most effective co-teaching teams use a variety of co-instructional approaches, you will need to observe pairs more frequently to get a deeper understanding of what is occurring in the classroom. Learn what to look, listen, and ask for that will demonstrate co-planning, co-instructing, and co-assessing. This might include an inability to tell the general educator from the special educator, differentiated assessments, the use of regrouping, and evidence that all students are actively included and all have access to the academic content (Murawski & Lochner, 2011).

Be sure to evaluate both teachers at once and not in separate observations. Otherwise, teams will typically allow the teacher being observed to "take the lead" in order to get the best evaluation, and you may not actually observe true co-teaching in action. Remember that there is no reason to take sides when evaluating co-teachers. Co-teaching is collaborative, so the supervision and evaluation process should be as well.

5. Improve, increase, and institutionalize co-teaching practices.

Congratulations! You've created a co-teaching program. Unfortunately, your work is not finished. What happens when more parents learn that your school offers co-taught classes? What happens when more of the IEPs written in feeder schools require co-teaching? What happens when you lose faculty who were trained in and committed to co-teaching?

What happens is that you are ready. You are ready to improve what you have, increase sections of successful co-teaching as needed, and institutionalize the process so that it's not dependent on you, specific teachers, or a particular curriculum. You've built a process that has become part of the culture of your school. If you're not quite there yet, you will be soon!

How can you successfully institutionalize co-teaching? First, thoughtfully support struggling co-teaching partnerships. You don't want to let frustrations or aggressions build between partners. Just because a team isn't effective doesn't mean that the teachers cannot co-teach; it may just mean they would be better paired with someone else.

Find ways to keep effective co-teaching partnerships together (Murawski & Dieker, 2013). It takes time and commitment to learn each other's content and ways; breaking up quality teams negatively impacts your forward movement. Celebrate these successes. These teams should be the models others look to emulate. Identify your stellar teams, and have other teams observe them.

Create capacity by adding more co-teaching teams based on instructional need. Do this slowly and methodically by putting the appropriate scheduling and planning times in place as well.

Finally, solicit feedback from students, parents, teachers, administrators, and other community stakeholders. Are they noticing any benefits from the co-teaching classes or relationships? If not, why not? Collect and share data about student success! After all, isn't student success why we're doing all this?

References

Damore, S. J., & Murray, C. (2009). Urban elementary school teachers' perspectives regarding collaborative teaching practices. Remedial and Special Education, 30(4), 234-244.

Dieker, L. A., & Murawski, W. W. (2003). Co-teaching at the secondary level: Unique issues, current trends, and suggestions for success. High School Journal, 86(4), 1-13.

Murawski, W. W. (2003). Co-teaching in the inclusive classroom: Working together to help all your students find success. Medina, WA: Institute for Educational Development.

Murawski, W. W. (2009). Collaborative teaching in secondary schools: Making the co-teaching marriage work! Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Murawski, W. W., & Dieker, L. A. (2013). Leading the co-teaching dance: Leadership strategies to enhance team outcomes. Alexandria, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

Murawski, W. W., & Lochner, W. W. (2011). Observing co-teaching: What to ask for, look for, and listen for. Intervention in School and Clinic, 46(3), 174-183.

Murawski, W. W., & Spencer, S. A. (2011). Collaborate, communicate, and differentiate! How to increase student learning in today's diverse schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Nevin, A. I., Villa, R. A., & Thousand, J. S. (2009). A guide to co-teaching with paraeducators: Practical tips for K-12 educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Villa, R., Thousand, J., & Nevin, A. (2013). A guide to co-teaching: New lessons and strategies to facilitate student learning (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Wilson, G. L. (2005). This doesn't look familiar! A supervisor's guide for observing co-teachers. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40(5), 271-275.

Wendy W. Murawski is executive director and Eisner endowed chair of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Michael D. Eisner College of Education, California State University, Northridge. She is the author of, most recently, What Really Works in Elementary Education (Corwin, 2015) and What Really Works in Secondary Education (Corwin, 2015), co-edited with Kathy Lynn Scott. Follow her on Twitter at @WWMurawski. Philip Bernhardt is chair of the Department of Secondary Education, K-12 and Educational Technology at the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado.

KEYWORDS

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December 2015/January 2016 | Volume 73 | Number 4 Co-Teaching: Making It Work Pages 30-34 Wendy W. Murawski and Philip Bernhardt You've heard the message. Co-teaching is the newest initiative to be implemented by your school district. Students with special needs can no longer be simply physically "included" in general education classes.

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ASCD article

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October 2014 | Volume 72 | Number 2
Instruction That Sticks Pages 55-60

Bradley A. Ermeling and Genevieve Graff-Ermeling

This process of roving among desks to monitor and assist students' independent or collaborative work is known as kikan-shidō (between-desks instruction). We encountered this practice firsthand while teaching and coordinating professional development at a K-12 school in Saitama, Japan (Ermeling & Graff-Ermeling, 2014).

From Japan ...

We first learned of kikan-shidō while participating in lesson study ( jugyō kenkyū) in Japan with a district-level research group for English teachers. The central feature of lesson study is observing and analyzing live classroom research lessons that a group of teachers has collaboratively planned (Ermeling & Graff-Ermeling, 2014; Lewis, 2002).

During one lesson study project hosted at our school, the English department prepared a lesson for a 9th grade oral communication course and asked one of us to teach the lesson for the scheduled observation. The lesson included teacher modeling and several pair exercises that challenged students to practice speaking English with their peers.

During the post-lesson reflection meeting, one observer suggested a more systematic use of kikan-shidō, pointing out that most of the instruction the teacher delivered when moving around the classroom focused on a few pairs of students who struggled with the exercise, whereas intermediate and advanced students received little guidance or support.

The observer suggested spending less time with each pair of students and giving briefer, more concise feedback so the teacher would have time to interact with everyone in the room. He proposed that as the teacher circulated among students, he should note the progress of each one, including any patterns that might warrant whole-class attention. As a result of these observations, the team discussed ways to more intentionally differentiate support for all students during kikan-shidō without neglecting those who struggled with the content.

This experience and subsequent observations of Japanese colleagues opened our eyes to the importance of kikan-shidō as part of regular lesson preparation, as did our analysis of videos from our own classroom lessons. We saw that the unplanned, cursory exchanges we had with students when they were working on an assignment in class mostly reiterated previous instruction and seldom advanced student learning. We came to understand that the teacher's role during student work time in class-what we chose to focus on, how long we spent with each team or individual, what we chose to say or not say-had crucial instructional value. Improving the use of this time required careful planning.

For decades, Japanese educators have used this practice to engage students in deeper learning around challenging problems and tasks (Sakoda, 1991). In his commentary on the solving inequalities lesson we describe at the beginning of this article, the national research coordinator points out specific video segments in which the Japanese teacher used kikan-shidō to engage and support students' independent work:

The teacher purposely speaks loudly when giving advice to a student so that other students can hear ... the teacher could exploit the advantages of a whole-class instruction method ... by doing kikan-shidō. The teacher instructs students while strolling among the students' desks, thinking about the upcoming order of presentations for successful whole-class instruction ... The teacher carries a lesson plan sheet and writes down the students' understandings of-or difficulties with-a solution, while instructing individual students. (UCLA & the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, n.d., 05:10)

To the United States

The practice of kikan-shidō can prove valuable to U.S. teachers as they work to address new and more rigorous standards in math, science, and English language arts. The intentional use of kikan-shidō can elicit, prod, and facilitate deeper learning in all students.

Using data from six cities across the world and more than 180 videotaped lessons from the Learners Perspective Study, which examined patterns of participation in well-taught 8th grade mathematics classrooms, O'Keefe, Xu, and Clarke (2006) outline four principal functions of kikan-shidō: (1) monitoring student activity, (2) guiding student activity, (3) organizing materials and the physical setup, and (4) engaging students in social talk. The examples we provide below come from our direct observations of more than 20 U.S. teachers working to improve between-desks instruction and facilitate deeper learning.

Function 1. Monitoring Student Activity

After studying the Japanese TIMSS video on solving inequalities, a high school algebra teacher we observed prepared a lesson that placed students in small groups to solve a challenging multistep problem using systems of linear equations. The problem read as follows:

Your friend has interviewed for two different sales positions in competing companies. The Stellar Company pays $500 per week plus 10 percent commission on the total dollars from sales per week. The Lunar Company pays $200 per week but offers a 20 percent commission on the total dollars from sales per week. Sales at both companies are seasonal. Your friend wants some help determining which job option is best.

The teacher circulated during group work; recorded the approach that each group selected to solve the problem (table, graph, or system of equations); and asked questions to elicit and understand students' thinking. For students who were using a table to solve the problem, the teacher anticipated that they might struggle to find how the total amount earned would change for each job. She asked questions such as, "How are the variables changing?" and "How fast are the two jobs moving together?" For students who selected a graph, she wanted to see whether they understood the solution conceptually. She asked those students questions like, "What data do you have?" "What are you going to put on each axis?" and "What is the graph going to tell you?" For students using the system of linear equations to solve the problem algebraically, she paid close attention to how they set up the problem. She asked, "What variables did you choose, and what does each represent?"

It's important to clarify that each method the students chose revealed underlying patterns of their thinking. Students who chose a table to solve the problem were typically less comfortable determining appropriate scale and intervals for a graph. They were also less likely to recognize when a problem involved a system of equations. The table represented a concrete and trusted format for organizing data, calculating values, and thinking through the solution.

Students who chose to solve the problem graphically typically recognized the need for two linear equations and saw the graph as a useful way to identify the point of intersection. They felt confident working with a more abstract representation and less computation.

Students who chose to solve the problem algebraically were comfortable visualizing the problem without all the detailed computation or graphical representation. They viewed the system of equations as the quickest, most reliable method and perhaps recognized that graphing could be imprecise when plotting values that involve decimals.

In the course of her observations, the teacher identified several groups to present their solutions at the end of the period. She ensured that each of the three main approaches-table, graph, and system of equations-was represented.

Much like in the Japanese TIMSS video the teacher studied, the goal of this lesson was to help students better understand the continuum of problem-solving approaches, starting with more concrete methods (creating a table) and moving toward more sophisticated and abstract ones (using a system of equations). By strategically selecting students to present each method, the teacher highlighted the validity and benefits of all three methods but also pointed out the value and necessity of the algebraic approach for tackling mathematical problems with increased scale and complexity.

Function 2. Guiding Student Activity

It was the first experiment of the year in a 5th grade science lesson we observed. The teacher's goal was to introduce students to the investigative process and teach them to anchor data in descriptive observations. The students would start by exploring simple interactions between liquids and solids; in subsequent lessons, they would use the data to note differences among various physical and chemical changes, discuss patterns that emerged across the data, and draw conclusions on the basis of this evidence.

Using six white powders and six clear liquids-the powders included Epsom salt, flour, and powdered lemonade, whereas the liquids included water, vinegar, and cooking oil-the teacher designed a whole-class experiment with 36 different mixtures and gave pairs of students at least two mystery combinations to analyze. After receiving the mystery liquid from the teacher, students carefully added two spoonfuls of powder to their bags, which listed the number assigned to the white powder and the letter assigned to the clear liquid they were investigating. The teacher asked the students to record each aspect of the experiment in their science notebooks: materials, procedures, observations, and ideas for future investigation.

Once the experiment was underway, the teacher rotated among the desks to support student pairs in developing their observational skills. He listened to student observations, noting when the students offered only vague descriptions, and prompted them to elaborate by asking such questions as, "What do you mean by the mixture 'making noise'?" and "What happened when you first added the powder?"

The teacher had to continually remind students to keep their observations rooted in sensory evidence-what they could see, hear, smell, and touch-while refraining from telling them what he could readily see and describe. Also, by asking such questions as, "Why do we have notebooks?" and "How will you remember your observations?" he continually impressed on students the importance of recording their observations.

In the early stages of the lesson, most students' observations were brief and simplistic: "They mix." "It's hard." "It's white." Only a few student pairs recorded information in their notebooks. The teacher noted that one group was having trouble describing the physical and chemical changes; the students weren't sure what to write. As the teacher encouraged them to be more detailed in their observations, the students began to note more specific characteristics, such as, "the mixture changed color," "it bubbled at first and then stopped," and "it was clear at first and then got foggy." Students across the class responded well to these individualized prompts and showed improvement in both describing and recording observations, an important first step in developing investigative skills.

Following the experiment, the teacher asked each pair of students to share their data. He then summarized all student responses in a large matrix on the board. One student shared two descriptive words from his science notebook-that the reaction "moved fast"-which the teacher highlighted as particularly interesting because it raised a point about the pace of a chemical reaction, an important scientific observation.

Function 3. Organizing Materials and the Physical Setup

In a 1st grade science lesson we observed, students were investigating the basic properties of magnets. The teacher designed an exploratory lesson, placing students in groups and giving each team a carefully organized tray that included different combinations of magnets: horseshoe, rectangle bar, paddle, and ball. The trays also contained a variety of objects that magnets could and couldn't move: steel wool, cotton balls, paper clips, plastic coins, erasers, and a compass. By intentionally including items that could and couldn't be picked up by a magnet, the teacher created a sense of mystery as well as a puzzling situation in which students would need to look for patterns.

Each student chose different items to investigate, enabling them to both individually and collectively explore, compare, and discover magnetic properties. One student discovered how the bar magnets' red and blue ends would pull together, whereas the two blue ends would push away (polarity). Another student created a chain of paper clips hanging from a magnet and observed that if she added more than three, one paper clip would drop off (magnetic strength). The teacher's careful preparation of the diverse trays helped facilitate active inquiry, effectively setting the stage for a rich culminating discussion during which students learned about the unique discoveries from each group.

Students were excited as they described what they learned: "The magnets rolled like magic!" "The two blue ends didn't stick to each other." Because of her intentional organization of materials, the teacher was able to build on these discoveries from her 1st grade scientists, and she finished the lesson by bridging students' observations to the key scientific concepts of attraction, repulsion, and magnetic fields.

We observed a similar focus on organizing materials and attending to classroom logistics in a high school English lesson. The teacher prepared a small-group exercise aimed at helping students shift their revision focus from mechanics and punctuation to quality of content and clarity of arguments. She carefully selected sample papers in advance that had various degrees of weakness in clarity of arguments (for example, lack of a clear main idea or thesis, use of quotes without sufficient explanation, and so on) and removed all student names before making copies for the lesson.

After leading the class through a modeling exercise during which they analyzed different levels of revision, the teacher placed students in groups and provided each team with three papers from a different class period to ensure anonymity and facilitate objective analysis. She also assigned students roles (reader, recorder, commentator) and explained that commentators should pause the group whenever they noticed specific errors with clarity or content.

Instead of briefly reviewing the paper for superficial errors or being preoccupied with whose paper they were commenting on-problems the teacher had noted in previous peer-editing sessions-the students showed increased focus on the substance of the writing and greater willingness to provide specific suggestions for improvement.

Function 4. Engaging in Social Talk

A 5th grade teacher we observed asked students to work in small groups to complete an exploratory exercise about the earth's water cycle. As she circulated and listened to group discussions, she saw one student carefully explaining to his team members the processes of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

During a brief lull in the conversation, she took a moment to affirm the student's skillful explanation. Using language familiar to their inner-city community, she said, "That's your new hustle. Instead of working the street corners, you study hard, get an A in class-and that's your proof that you can tutor other students. That's your new hustle!" The teacher later explained that she often looks for opportunities to offer students alternative choices to counter the more negative influences of their environment.

We also noted the intentional use of this practice in a high school chemistry class. The teacher rotated around the classroom as students cleaned up their stations from a lab experiment and engaged in brief conversation with individual students to build rapport. He asked one student about the opponent for an upcoming volleyball match. He asked another about a sister who was in the hospital for surgery. He assisted the students with clean-up duties as they conversed and gradually switched from social talk to questions about what they learned from the lesson activity.

Preparing for Kikan-Shidō

Teachers can prepare for kikan-shidō by thinking through a series of questions and constructing a clear mental image of the lesson activity: What are my goals as I circulate? How will I distribute my time with various groups and differentiate support? What key understandings or misconceptions will I be looking for? What probing questions will I use to check for understanding or advance student thinking? What will I be careful not to say or do that might decrease the rigor of the task? What materials will I need to distribute? When should I engage in brief social conversation with students to provide encouragement and build relationships?

Using a format to plan and reflect on a few key lessons is one way to develop the discipline of regularly thinking through these questions. For example, in the 9th grade oral communication course we described, in which Japanese students practiced English dialogue, our planning template listed common student reactions to the assignment that we should look for, such as reading the conversation without trying to commit it to memory, trying to memorize the dialogue without reading it out loud, and reading or speaking lines mechanically without attempting to convey meaning. The template also listed helpful teacher responses and support during kikan-shidō, such as providing feedback on pronunciation and intonation, encouraging students to work on memorization, and providing additional instruction to students who were reciting lines without a communicative purpose.

Carrying a copy of the lesson plan on a tablet or mobile device during kikan-shidō is also useful; teachers can review the plan on the spot and take notes as they observe. This kind of planning and reflection will help them develop increasingly nuanced understandings of the choices presented in each kikan-shidō episode and the effect these choices have on student learning.

Persisting with Kikan-Shidō

Much like in Japan, teachers and administrators will need sustained, collaborative learning opportunities to persist with the slow, steady process of "learning to teach between desks." One study suggests it takes, on average, 20 separate instances of practice for teachers to master a new skill, and the number could be significantly higher for more complex skills (Joyce & Showers, 2002).

Findings from a case study we conducted on teacher change showed that it took at least three semesters for teachers to adopt and effectively implement a new instructional approach in their high school science classrooms, which involved significant adjustments to teachers' "between-desks" instructional routines (Ermeling, 2010). One teacher shared the benefits of this approach, which helped her not only guide student activity but also challenge students with an appropriate level of struggle:

I just got my scores back: 18/20 passes = 90 percent. Seven students received a 5, six received a 4, which is so much higher than any class ever before. I'm so happy for my students, I just sat down, closed the door ... and cried and cried and gave thanks. I have to believe I changed the way I taught, that making them struggle really bridged the gap. This was my most enjoyable year of teaching in my 28 years. (p. 386)

From Insights to Change

Adopting "instruction that sticks" means sticking with the relentless pursuit of incremental improvement. It means learning to understand and predict how specific aspects of an instructional practice, such as kikan-shidō, will influence learning and how student responses, in turn, might influence teacher actions. It means persevering long enough to understand the nuances of effective implementation-and translating these into practical teacher knowledge and tangible student results.

References

Ermeling, B. A. (2010). Tracing the effects of teacher inquiry on classroom practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 377-388. Retrieved from www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X09000559

Ermeling, B., & Graff-Ermeling, G. (2014). Learning to learn from teaching: A first-hand account of lesson study in Japan. International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, 3(2), 170-192. Retrieved from http://independent.academia.edu/BradleyErmeling

Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (2002). Student achievement through staff development. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Lewis, C. (2002). Lesson study: A handbook of teacher-led instructional change. Philadelphia: Research for Better Schools.

O'Keefe, C., Xu, L. H. & Clarke, D. (2006). Kikan-shidō: Between desks instruction. In D. Clarke, J. Emanuelsson, E. Jablonka, & I. A. C. Mok (Eds.), Making connections: Comparing mathematics classrooms around the world (pp. 73-106). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers B.V.

Sakoda, K. (1991). Kikan-shido no gijutsu [The art of teaching between desks]. Tokyo: Meiji Tosho Shuppan Kabushikigaisha.

UCLA & the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (n.d.). NRC commentary on JP3 inequalities. TIMSS Video. Retrieved from www.timssvideo.com/49

Endnote

The solving inequalities lesson from TIMSS (Mathematics JP3) is available in its entirety at www.timssvideo.com/49.

Bradley A. Ermeling is principal research scientist with Pearson Research and Innovation Network. Genevieve Graff-Ermeling is chief academic officer at Orange Lutheran High School, Orange, California.

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October 2014 | Volume 72 | Number 2 Instruction That Sticks Pages 55-60 Bradley A. Ermeling and Genevieve Graff-Ermeling This process of roving among desks to monitor and assist students' independent or collaborative work is known as kikan-shidō (between-desks instruction).

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VTS lesson on every Monday Morning via the NY TIMES 

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VTS lesson on every Monday Morning via the NY TIMES 

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1. After looking closely at the image above (or at the full-size image), think about these three questions:

* What is going on in this picture?

* What do you see that makes you say that?

* What more can you find?

2. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)

3. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the "Reply" button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.

Each Monday, our collaborator, Visual Thinking Strategies, will facilitate a discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time by paraphrasing comments and linking to responses to help students' understanding go deeper. You might use their responses as models for your own.

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What's Going On in This Picture? | Jan. 7, 2019

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1. After looking closely at the image above (or at the full-size image), think about these three questions: * What is going on in this picture? * What do you see that makes you say that? * What more can you find? 2.

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Visual Thinking Strategies - homepage

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Assessing an Integrated, Collaborative Model to Serve Diverse Learners

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Assessing an Integrated, Collaborative Model to Serve Diverse Learners

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Use this tool to self-assess where you building is regarding an integrated, collaborative model.

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Additional resources including the PPT are posted below. 

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Additional resources including the PPT are posted below. 

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Co-Teaching: A Look-Back, a Look-Ahead, and the Look-Fors

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Co-Teaching: A Look-Back, a Look-Ahead, and the Look-Fors

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Coteaching Tandem Bike article from Ed Leadership

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Academic language integrated into an elementary social studies class

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Co Teaching for English Language Learners in NYC

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Content and Language Integration

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PLEASE CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT OR LOG IN TO ACCESS THIS CONTENT

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Thought starters

1. What kinds of notes do Ms. Hegg and Ms. Carey take?

2. How do they use these notes to adapt and plan instruction?

3. How might you use this strategy with your own colleagues?

School Details

Banting Elementary School
2019 Butler Drive
Waukesha WI 53186

Data Provided By:

Teachers

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Enjoy your first three pieces of content for free. Subscribe for unlimited access. Have questions about subscribing? Click Here to learn more. Enjoy your first three pieces of content for free. Subscribe for unlimited access. Have questions about subscribing? Click Here to learn more.

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Leadership Support for Teacher Collaboration 

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Leadership Support for Teacher Collaboration 

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Musical Metaphor clip

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One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful (5 Guys, 1 Piano) - The Piano Guys

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Collaboration and Co-Teaching: Strategies for English Learners

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Co-planning, Co-teaching, and Collaboration for EL InstructionListen To Our Latest Podcast on ELLEVATION EDUCATION:

with Andrea Honigsfeld and Maria G. Dove

AERA 2018 Annual Meeting, New York City, NY

WIDA Annual Conference, Tampa, FL 2017

International TESOL Convention, Seattle WA

Drs. Maria G. Dove and Andrea Honigsfeld (Molloy College) shared their research on the CR-ITI program impact during a session entitled Gauging the Effect of Tesol Expertise on Learner Outcomes chaired by Andrea Hellman (Missouri State University) and Donald Freeman (University of Michigan)

ESL Coteaching and Collaboration: Opportunities to Develop Teacher Leadership and Enhance Student Learning

Analysis of the Implementation of an ESL Co-teaching Model in a Suburban Elementary School

Seeing Is Believing: Successful Co-Teaching for English Learners

Supporting Teachers of ELLs Through Unforeseeable Change: The Power Of Coaching

Questar III BOCES: June 9, 2015
Collaboration and Co-Teaching: Strategies to Support English Learners

Molloy College: June 5, 2015
Collaboration and Co-Teaching: Integrated Service Delivery for ELLs

Social Media Sites

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Collaboration and Co-Teaching: Strategies for English Learners

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Drs. Maria G. Dove and Andrea Honigsfeld (Molloy College) shared their research on the CR-ITI program impact during a session entitled Gauging the Effect of Tesol Expertise on Learner Outcomes chaired by Andrea Hellman (Missouri State University) and Donald Freeman (University of Michigan)

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Credit: David Julian
Information age, rest in pieces. This is the Collaboration Age.

We can all connect instantly across time zones and oceans. Previously impossible partnerships now produce startling innovations. And the four walls of your classroom no longer limit your students' reach.

To thrive in this always-on community, students and teachers must become agile learners, creators, and collaborators. Their success and our country's future depend on it.

It's tough for educators to meet this challenge when the No Child Left Behind law feeds a national obsession with the what of knowledge, not the how. But they can. They must. And some already do.

Collaboration Generation: Special Report -- Contents

Explore articles, videos, audio, and more:

Articles

Videos

Audio

Poll

Resources

Grace Rubenstein is a senior producer at Edutopia.

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Collaboration Generation: Teaching and Learning for a New Age

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Credit: David Julian Information age, rest in pieces. This is the Collaboration Age. We can all connect instantly across time zones and oceans. Previously impossible partnerships now produce startling innovations. And the four walls of your classroom no longer limit your students' reach.